Support for young people with substance use

Helping you make informed choices! We visit schools across the Bailiwick from Year 5 to Year 11 to deliver PSHE lessons that are honest, age appropriate and designed to help students make informed choices. You’ll see us more than 20 times during your school years and through community groups like youth clubs.

We also deliver training to professionals to help them spot the signs of substance use and respond appropriately.

Building confidence and making positive choices! In schools across the Bailiwick, we work with Key Stage 3 students to spot early signs that someone might be more likely to take risks in the future, not just with substances, but with other behaviours too.

We use a trusted survey to help identify those who might benefit from extra support. If you're selected, you’ll be invited to join a Prevention Group that runs for 6–8 weeks. Sessions focus on wellbeing, resilience, managing peer pressure, and making positive choices. This should help you feel more confident, in control, and equipped to handle life's challenges in healthy ways.

Tried something once and want to understand the risks? If you’re 13–25 and have had one-off or low-risk experience with substances, our Brief Interventions offer non-judgmental one-to-one support, typically around 3 sessions, in school or community settings.

We’ll cover:

1. Facts about the substance you may have taken
2. How it affects your body and mind
3. Harm reduction and safety tips.

We currently support young people on the topics of alcohol, cannabis, magic mushrooms, MDMA, & solvents.

Is your substance use affecting your life? If you’re aged 13–25 and your use of drugs or alcohol is beginning to impact your wellbeing, relationships, or daily routine, we’re here to support you. You don’t need to be in crisis; we can help you explore what’s going on and find a way forward.

You’ll be matched with a key worker for regular one-to-one sessions focused on your emotional, personal, and practical wellbeing. We can also work alongside other services, and support is available for as long as it’s helpful to you.

Want to quit vaping? QuitVape is Guernsey’s stop vaping service for young people, run by Action for Children, the School Nursing team, and Public Health. If you’re aged 12–18 (or up to 25 if you’re a care leaver), we’ll support you to quit in a way that works for you.

We can meet you in school or in the community, and offer three levels of support:

1. A self-help booklet with tips and info
2. One-to-one support from Action for Children
3. Intensive support from the School Nursing team, including nicotine replacement if needed

Our vaping service has a separate referral form which we share with the school nursing service.

You can self refer for the service by clicking here.